Keyboard and staff reader



Aug. 20, 1929. E. L; BUXTON KEYBOARD AND STAFF READER Filed Oct. 22, 1926 EN TOR 779 1 eef Bax/0.

A TTORNE Y f am n eau ort; or Kansas cirY, MISSOUBKL; I f

. y nonanlhnn smrr READER.

Myinvention relates to a and staff reader for, primary piano students and has for; its principaliobject to facilitate in struction bygraphic illustration ofthe rela tionship between the pianonkeyboard and themusicalstafl"; i 1'1- a Q In accomplishing this object, I provideea board 1 or the like, bearing the representation of a pianokeyboardfland of almusical staff, in suchgrelation that-markers indicativeof the namesof the staff linesand spaces may and backto illustrate, the relationship be; tween relative portions of the .jstafi' and keye board. V j

In the drawings forming part ofthis ap plication Ihave illustrated a preferred form 5 Fig. l is a perspective View of y the keyboardandstafl;

of board and its marking;

a -preferred construction of the board and i Fig. 2is a transverse sectionoftheboard through one of the marker groups! jEig. 3 is a d'etail perspective ,view of a button employed in connection 1 with the board to indicate azkey, signature.

3 1 Referring more in detailto the drawings:

r 1 designates theboard a whole and which may be composed of anyi suitable material, stiifjenough to retain its shape under repeated handling and: to carry 1 the transby f verse slots hereinafter ,mentioned, a Extend ing alongone of the longitudinal edgesof theiboard is the representation of a piano keyboard, the transverse: lines 2 :dividing this portion {into spaces V representative of f blackkeys 4. 1% V r lined toindicatejthe musicalstafiythegright being marked :in'jsolid color represent the Back of the k yboard is hand end of the board bearing the treble clef sign 5 andthefiglower part the base clef sign 6, the signs being arranged parallel with the keyboard so that whenthe student is working on the keyboard, he holds the board lengthwise in front of him, butwhen heis; 'working with the stafl he turns theboard upright or at right angles to its former position. h v v i The staff portion of the board is marked withthe stafi'lines 7 dividing that portion into staff spaces 8. a h i Extending through the staff i lines and spaces into the corresponding white keys in .assemblyyofb y it i B staff iline for both *thGwlilBblG and base leading transverselyinto the black keys and by means of :which's'harps and flats maybe indicated, as presently described.

Slidably mounted on the board at each key line and space are buttons 11, bearing key names correspondingto their particular i y i ,724 ,904

the keyboard areislots having branches i locations, the buttons being slidably an- ,choredyby shanks Q12 Whiclrmove; snugly in the slots 9 and have bosses 13 at their under ends for retaining the buttons to the board. There is a button for each of the staff lines and spaces, each of the buttons bearing the corresponding indicia of thekey names.

[If also preferably provide the board with buttons 14 having pins 15' for fitting; in

sockets l6 at1the left bof the staif,-the buttons being marked to indicate sharps or flats and thereby designate the key signature. 1

y In Fig, 11 have shown abutton 14:;on the clefs, as the signatures in both imust be the same, but it isapparent that a button bearng the indication for a sharp may be substituted whenthe other signature is desired and thatthe buttons may be shifted to any of theline or space sockets,as the particular occasion may demand.

Assumingthe Iboardtobe constructed assembled described, with a key button slidably mounted in each of the key slots, the operation is as follows: i

h 't is; first desirablethat the studentlearn the names of the keys on the "keyboard; This is; accomplished with my in:

ventionby ifirst movin all ofibthe buttons onto-thestaif portion ofthe' boardaand drill ing the student merely in the names 0f the keys, such as A, B, G,ID, E,F and G, After the student has learned these ,key names, then he is taught to associate-the names within the; corresponding keys in the keys board. This can .be .doneby requiring l him,

to move one of the name buttons from the fstaflf'tothe keyboard. As anillustration, he is required to find the location of the keys named E H To do this he first locates the key buttons and then slides them along the board from the 'staflfonto the keyboard; this beingdone with all the E buttons in the set. When the key buttons have been moved onto the keyboard, the student observes that all of them are located'on the white keys to thefright of groups of two black keys and thereafter he remembers that each key to the right of a group of two black keys E7, C keys. Movement of the C buttons onto the keyboard shows him that; thef C keys are to the left of a group of two black ey Likewise e buttons "when moved from the staff to the keyboardshow him that the D key's la're the white keys between the black keys. 4

members of the groups of "two Drilling of the student i this manner" u may be continued until he is thoroughly the left of niiddle Cwhen moved to the staff familiar With theflocation of the various keys.

i sell" with the-keyboard in this manner, hejis the keyboard to the staft showsfhirn the dividing line-between the} treble l and base staffs ahd fmovement of the other G key buttons showshim that the C key-button to the right of middle "G, when moved to the stafi is located in the third treble space and indicates the letter name for that space; He also learns that the C key button to islocated in thesecond space of'tlie'base staff, This further impresses. upon the studentthat the" staff above" the? middle C line is treble and that below the middlegC- line is base and that the part of the keyboard to the right of middle O is treble and that toithe leftoimiddleG isbase.-- 1

As a continuation of the foregoingprocess of instruction, the buttons 14:" may be en'iE- ployed to-indi'cate tothe student that notes indicated-by position of that key button are a to be sharped or flatted. "For illustration, if flat buttons 1 are located on a Bfdegree, then the student knows that r all of the B notes are-tobe'flattedandthe B buttonsthereaft'er employed in'thelesson are to 'be' moved" into the branchess lOfo fi theslots p 'He' may next" lie-required to-Ylocate the,

After the" student has'ffamiliarized him 3; Alkeyboard and stafi reader comprisin over-the black keys instead to the ends of the slots over the White keys,

indicated by moving the buttons over the first keys to the right of the line or space on Which the; button for the key to be sharped is located.

In the abovestatement of operation I have not attempted to go into full detail as to instruction With the'board as any skillful music teacher will be able to employit in a practicalway, and While I have referred to the board merely as 'ackeyboard and staff reader for instruction in key names, the device is also useful in teaching scale con structionand chord building and reading.

"It is 'furtherappar'ent that the indicia' carried by the buttons need not be; those specifically illustrated as representations of the notes themselves may be substituted for the letters, and that other changes and varia} tionsl may be employed without departing from the I spirit" of the "invention.

' Should the sharp buttons 14 be employed, then the notes are to be sharped, and thus ,l/Vhat' I. claim and desire tosecure by v Letters Patent is zlfA keyboard andstafi; reader comprise ing a board or the like bearing representations of a piano keyboard and a musical staff, the lines and spaces of thestafl' having fixed relation with corresponding keys" of the keyboard, and staff line and space name markers movable to and from corresponding portions'of the "representations of the staff andk'eyboard. i V

2. A keyboard and staff reader comprising a board or" the like, hearing representations of a piano keyboard and a musical staff, with-thestafl jlin'es and spaces terminating in corresponding keys'of the keyboard, and

"markers anchoredto the board and selectivelymovable along the staff lines and spaces into and from corresponding keys'.

a: board or "the "like bearin-g representation: of' a piano keyboard: and ajmusical stafii the board having guides, running from lines and spaces of the sta'fii 1 into corresponding he s of the keyboard, and markers seleetive y a movahlealong the guides;

In testiniony whereof I afii'xmy signature; a l 

